University of Virginia Library

RECORDS

Van Peebles Messes Up
Lyrics In New Album

By ROB PRITCHARD

Melvin Van Peebles' As
Serious As A Heart-Attack is
not a funny album, nor is it
likely to achieve the same
success as did his role as
Sweetback. It might even be
considered a sequel to "As
Noxious As A Keeper," but
that's only speculation.

What Van Peebles seems to
be attempting is the unification
of sound-lyrics with
word-music, a possibly
interesting development, but it
doesn't come off. It is not an
album to be listened to and
enjoyed, not that that was Van
Peebles' intention; but neither
is it successful in what must
have been his aim—that of
expanding the fringe of
contemporary music.

Much like Captain Beefheart
who assails contemporary
music by reversing the
music-lyric roles and by the use
of verbal/tonal instrumentals
Van Peebles relies largely on
rhythmical lyrics, sometimes
almost chants, at times
resembling streams of
consciousness varying one from
another by degrees of
emphasis, and at other times
breaking the surface to
condemn the spectrum of evil
inherent in our society.

Definitely the lyrics are the
key to Van Peebles attempt.
But as a key they don't fit. To
subject words to music is not
unusual and can be successful
as long as the lyrics remain
sacrificial highlights, And it
stands to reason that the
reverse can also be true.

But the subjection of music
to words as handled by Van
Peebles is a mess. The music,
supplied by a guitar and drums,
is so monotonous and in parts
noxious as to ruin its chance to
act as a justifiable foil to his
lyrics.

Rather, the music is so
bothersome as to rob the lyrics
of their due attention instead
of focusing on them. The net
result being a change of
records, not the development
of new musical tastes.

Romine Gilbert: Travelling In A Van